1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cyclone condensing apparatus and a washing/drying machine having the same and, more particularly, to a cyclone condensing apparatus, in which air of high-temperature and high-humidity in a casing flows in a cyclonic manner and effectively contacts cooling water, thereby improving condensing efficiency, and a washing/drying machine having the cyclone condensing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as a drum of a washing/drying machine is rotated alternately in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, laundry is elevated upwards along the inner circumferential surface of the drum together with washing water and is then dropped, thereby being washed. After the washing of the laundry is completed, air in a high-temperature and low-humidity state is circulated in the drum, thereby drying the laundry.
Accordingly, the washing/drying machine comprises a tub for containing washing water, a drum rotatably installed in the tub for washing laundry, a door installed on the front surface of the tub so that the door is opened and closed to cause the laundry to be put into and taken out of the tub, and an air circulating duct installed outside the tub and connected to the drum for drying the washed laundry.
An air blast fan and a heater, for forcibly circulating air in a high temperature state through the drum, and cooling water spray nozzles, for condensing moisture from the air of a high temperature and high humidity state, passed through the drum and changing the air into a low humidity state, are installed in the air circulating duct.
After the washing of the laundry contained in the drum is completed by washing, rinsing, and dehydrating operations performed by the rotation of the drum, a drying operation for drying the laundry through the air circulating duct is performed. That is, when the air blast fan and the heater, which are installed in the air circulating duct, are operated, air is circulated in the air circulating duct and contacts the cooling water spray nozzles to be changed into a low-temperature and low-humidity state, and the air in the low-temperature and low-humidity state continuously passes through the heater to be changed into a high-temperature and low-humidity state, and passes through the laundry contained in the drum to be changed into a high-temperature and high-humidity state. The air of the high-temperature and high-humidity state again passes through the cooling water spray nozzles to be changed into the low-temperature and low-humidity state. Through the above series of an air circulating process, the laundry contained the drum is dried.
Since the above-described conventional washing/drying machine has a structure such that the air, in the high-temperature and high-humidity state, flowing from the lower part of the air circulating duct to the upper part of the air circulating duct, contacts the cooling water spray nozzles installed on the upper part of the air circulating duct to be changed into the low-temperature and low-humidity state, there is an insufficient time taken to cause the air, in the high-temperature and high-humidity state, entered into the air circulating duct to contact water, in a low-temperature state, sprayed from the cooling water spray nozzles to be condensed into water. Accordingly, the conventional washing/drying machine is disadvantageous in that it has an excessively low condensing efficiency.
Particularly, when the flow rate of the air of high-temperature and high-humidity passing through the cooling spray nozzles of the air circulating duct is high, water sprayed from the cooling water spray nozzles is contained in the circulating air to flow into the drum rather than cool the circulating air to condense water from the air, thereby being supplied to the laundry and reducing drying efficiency.
Korean Patent Laid-open No. 2003-84070 discloses a drying machine, in which a cyclone, for generating moisture in a cyclonic manner, is installed in a cold air circulating duct.
The above-disclosed drying machine has the cyclone, which does not include cooling water spray nozzles for condensing moisture from air of high-temperature and high-humidity, but separates the moisture from the air by centrifugally circulating the air passed through the drum, thus having a comparatively low condensing efficiency, thereby being incapable of increasing drying efficiency and shortening the time taken to dry the laundry.